Changing Bella
by JennaCullenNV
Summary: My version of Bella's transformation through Edward's POV. Wrote before Breaking Dawn, canon until there. What if Charlie came by the Cullen house while Bella was changing? What would the Cullens do? How would Charlie react?


Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters within, Stephenie Meyer does. If I did, it would have been raining bricks on Edward all of New Moon. I am making no profit, this is only for fun

I wrote this last summer while waiting for Breaking Dawn to come out and published it on another site at that time. Since then I have made some minor revisions, mostly grammatical, and thought since I was reading here more I would post it here. This is my first non-parody fanfic, enjoy and please review. Comments are greatly appreciated.

Thanks Smms528 for Beta work

Spoilers through Eclipse

EPOV

We drove away from Charlie's house much slower than I normally would choose to drive. I didn't need to be able to read Bella's mind to know what she was thinking. Tonight she said goodbye to Charlie before we left in the morning for "college". We weren't actually going any where for another three days, another long three days. We decided that any bit of comfort we could afford Bella, we would give her during her painful journey into vampirism. A familiar setting seemed to be such a simple comfort that would be hard to deny her.

Charlie took the move better than expected. He knew the day was coming, and took the time to mentally prepare himself. All of his thoughts tonight were on Bella's happiness and the importance of going to college. He still worried about her, but once the idea of the engagement set in, he realized I would never hurt Bella again. Well, I knew the truth. I would hurt her just one more time, I promised her that first. I was only going to bring her that pain because it was what she wanted.

Charlie even gave a very touching speech about us at the wedding last week. I may not had been his first choice for a son-in-law, but he had warmed up to me during the summer. He did threaten to kill me in the speech if any harm came to Bella, in a joking tone. Emmett laughed louder than anyone during this part of the speech. His mind had betrayed the joking nature of the comments though, he was serious. If anything happened to his Bella, my Bella, he did plan on killing me. If any harm came to Bella, I might ask him to do me that favor.

Tonight though, Charlie didn't try once with the threats, even in his mind. His thoughts centered more on how much comfort it brought him that Bella was going off to college with someone she trusted to make the move and transition easier for her. It also relived some of his concerns he had regarding her safety in a bigger city. He knew I would never let someone else harm her. He still wasn't sure about me harming her, but he was certain I would never let anyone else. He always knew that, even during the period when he barely tolerated my existence, let alone the time I spent with Bella after our separation. He only worried then about me hurting her, he still did in a way.

I looked over back at my bride as she stared out the window with a blank expression on her face. It was times like this I really did wish her actual thoughts were not a mystery to me. It was also a time I knew exactly what they centered on, without knowing the details.

"Bella, love" I started.

She smiled at me. "Yes, my husband." The tone in her voice made it clear that although it was me who wanted marriage at first, she was just as happy as I that we were now man and wife. Her face betrayed her happy tone though. You could still see the sadness on her face for leaving Charlie. She made sure though her voice made it clear she was happy about her choice, the choice of me.

"Are you going to be alright?" I asked. I knew Bella's answer, I knew even if the answer was in the negative, she would never tell me given what was at stake. She wanted to be with me, but she still wanted to protect Charlie and Renee all the heartache from her disappearing for awhile. She was one of the most selfless people, if not the most selfless person, I had ever known.

After a sigh, "Yes" was her answer. That was what I expected. "Is Charlie?" she continued. Again, an expected answer from my angel.

"I am a mind reader, not a fortune teller" I told her with a chuckle. "but if you want, when we get home, before…" I didn't want to finish that sentence. I knew it was the key to our eternity together, but it was also going to be the hardest thing I have ever done. To knowingly and purposely hurt the one I loved. I knew that the pain I would be bringing her the next few days and the less it was in my mind the better, I could not break my promise to her to be the one to make the change. I started over the thought again, "When we get home, we can ask Alice."

Bella smiled at me and grabbed my hand, encompassing it with her warm hands. I cherished every last minute of it as we finished the drive home. Determined to cherish the last time her warm flesh would be around my cold skin.

As usual, when we arrived, I quickly appeared on her side to let her out of the car, as any gentleman should do. I helped her out as we walked into the house, knowing that this was the last time Bella would ever experience the outside world as she did now.

We had barely stepped in the front door when Alice greeted us with a grin. "He will be okay" she smiled at Bella with a reassuring smile. If there was one person, okay vampire, besides me in this world that could soothe Bella's nerves it was Alice. Well, willingly at least. Alice and Bella had grown extremely close, as if they were sisters already.

We all walked up to my bedroom, but on the way up the stairs, Bella tripped and banged up her knee. No broken skin, but I could see the blood was already pooling at the surface. I was going to be a nasty bruise in the morning. That is it would be, if Bella was not on death row and on her way to her execution chamber right now. I needed to break out of this mind set before we got there. I knew this is what she wanted, this was even what my selfish self wanted too. But nevertheless, I truly wished with all my heart there was another way for Bella to spend eternity with me.

As Bella had gotten up, I swept her off her feet deciding to carry her the rest of the way. What a twist of fate it would have been if Bella's clumsiness was the death of her just steps away from the where I was going to take her human life away. I softly kissed her wounded knee, then looked into her eyes enjoying their human glow. I at least knew how less breakable Bella was going to become after we were through.

"Can't even make it upstairs for my final time as a human without hurting myself" Bella said with a slight chuckle, never breaking contact with my eyes.

"I wouldn't expect less" I said making that playful crooked smile that she was incredibly fond of.

When we made it to our bedroom, Carlisle followed us in immediately. The rest of the family shuffled in afterwards.

"Bella, you still have a choice" Carlisle said. "We are happy to welcome you with open arms, but if you changed your mind you are still part of this family, no matter what."

No one else talked. They knew this evening was between Bella, Carlisle, and myself. They already told Bella their feelings and wished her the best. The only thing that could influence her now was her. I still listened for their thoughts though, as I knew turning Bella did also affect them. I also needed to know and have reassurances that I was doing the right thing. Carlisle was telling her what to expect, something I didn't need nor care to hear.

"_Edward couldn't have done better even with all the time in the world. She makes him so happy, full of life_" Esme was thinking. When she saw I was looking her way, she smiled "_Edward, dear, it is her decision. She is choosing you"_

"_Bella you can still back down, have a normal life. Didn't you listen to what I told you?"_ Roselie's thoughts were so similar to mine for once, not centered on herself, it was scary. I knew Bella would not back down now though. The only way to make her happy was with a deadly kiss.

Emmett was thinking about how funny it would be if Bella's clumsiness continued into vampireness, and how even with that with her newborn strength he could still beat her at a wrestling match. Count on Emmett to take a serious situation and make it funny and jovial. I even grinned slightly at the images he was conjuring up. That was my Bella. I will need to thank him later, it was relieving some of the stress and anxiety I was feeling tonight.

Jasper was tense, with all the emotions running high tonight, that was no wonder. He was doing his best not to calm everyone down just yet. He knew that everyone needed a clear head in the making this decision. Jasper filled his head with strategies to help newborn Bella adjust, knowing the bloodlust she would have and using his own urges as a guide.

I focused on Alice's thoughts last. She was reliving a vision. The whole family, including Bella, are back in the high school routine. Everyone was happy and well fed on the blood of animals, as you could see in everyone's eyes. We were all able to live among humans without incident. There was no clue to the year of this vision or how long it would take to get to that point, but it showed success. Alice was no doubt thinking about this image for my benefit, to help calm my nerves before the big event. She glanced over to me and smiled a reassuring smile. I will need to thank Alice for that later too.

Carlisle had finished preparing Bella as he pulled out a small vile of morphine and a needle. "I don't know if this will help, or how long it will last, but if you want it, it is yours."

She nodded then looked at me, "You won't leave me will you?" I know she knew the answer already, but it helped to hear it out loud. Again, any comfort and reassurances I could give her, I was more than happy to accommodate. She was giving me everything, the least I could do was provide anything she needed to make this easier on her.

"I will be at your side the entire time. I will never leave you, not for the rest of eternity"

I took in the sweet aroma of Bella and ran my hands down her warm flesh, then I pulled her close as I sat down on our bed. I pulled her in a position comfortable for her to spend the next three days in, then I wrapped my cool body around her warm flesh. I swept her hair off of her neck and kissed her assuring her I was there to protect her, even if I was going to inflict the worse pain imaginable on her in a matter of minutes.

"Ready?" I looked at Carlisle. He was going to stand by for complications during the change. It was important he was ready too. He shook his head, indicating that I could start whenever I was ready.

With that the rest of the family headed out to give us privacy. They all said something along the lines of "I love you" to Bella as they left. Bella nodded and mouthed "I love you" back. Even Roselie took part in the well wishes and love. Roselie's last thought before leaving the room, a simple _"welcome to the family sis."_ I could tell she was sad and angry to see Bella give up her human life so easily, but she also finally realized there was nothing she could say to change Bella's stubborn mind from this decision.

Once everyone save Carlisle left the room, I again went to kiss Bella's neck tenderly. I smelled her human scent, taking it all in one last time. I kissed her soft, warm human lips and ran my fingers through her hair to continue to take in her fragrance. I went to kiss her neck, but this time opened my mouth. I barred my teeth, and let them sink into her tender skin.

Her warm delicious nectar trickled into my mouth. I had tasted it once before, about a year and a half ago in Phoenix. That time the goal was to suck the venom out, this time the goal was to inject it in. I had to pull back slightly to calm myself, to keep me from committing an act that I would never forgive myself for, although my own survival instincts aided in the self-control. At least now I knew once the result of this action was complete, I could never do her harm again.

She suddenly let out a blood curdling scream, even with the morphine, she screamed in tremendous pain. The fire burned through her taking over her entire body. Her body writhed in pain, but even through all this she never let up her grip on my hand. Even through all the pain that she was suffering, she still wanted to be near me and hold me. Even after I was the cause of all the pain she was enduring. What did I ever do to deserve my angel?

After about an hour, the constant screaming stopped. Bella whimpered mostly, but the screaming happened in 10-15 minute increments now. I could feel her temperature slowly dropping as her skin was pressed firmly against mine. I could hear her heart slowly changing its beat and slow down. Most humans wouldn't notice this change in her yet, but they didn't know that was something to be looking for. She still had two and half days to go, but I was already fully aware of the slow changes in my Bella.

Around 5 A.M. I heard Alice call out in her mind "Charlie." It was not the cry of panic for him or his safety, but rather a cry of panic for us because of him. Alice was running in to my room trying to get everyone assembled for a family meeting in the process. She knew I wouldn't leave Bella's side, bringing the meeting to me was the only option.

"Charlie got called on an emergency call this morning" Alice started to explain quickly, "he was on his way home. But he decided to swing by here first. You told him you were leaving at dawn?" that part was directed at me. I gave her a quick nod. "I guess he figures since he was up and passing the place he could get one last hug goodbye."

"Someone needs to move Edward's car" Roselie said, almost out the door before anyone had a chance to catch her.

Alice was holding her temples as another vision came to her. "No, its too late. He will see, he can already see the house in the distance now."

"Someone convince him that we are gone" I snapped at my family unintentionally. They knew my frustration was not with them but rather with the situation. They all understood my stress and forgave me promptly in their heads for it. They also were all just as worried for Bella as I was, not to mention the worry about ourselves. "He can't see Bella this way." I added with a kinder sense of urgency, but it was unnecessary. Everyone was thinking the same thing as well.

I ran my hand through Bella's hair and held her closer. I knew she could hear what was going on and that added stress would be far from helpful given her current state. "It will be alright my love," I whispered in her ear. I continued to stroke her head and neck lovingly as she shrieked in pain again. I wasn't certain if this scream was from the physical pain she was feeling or for the potential pain Charlie might have to deal with now. Either way, I had to protect her and comfort her. I knew for certain that Carlisle needed to convince Charlie to leave. There was no way Charlie could see Bella as her skin got paler and harder, her heartbeat slowed, her breathing became shallower, and her temperature dropped. This was a slow process, but enough happened already that Charlie would know everything was far from right. Charlie could never know. Less than a week after the wedding I broke my promise to him to never hurt her. It didn't matter that this is what she wanted, what I selfishly wanted. Charlie wouldn't, and couldn't understand. I knew I had hurt Bella and he was close enough where he could figure it out. I gently kissed my Bella again, holding her closer than ever before.

I was not going to let go of her. I knew that despite her pain, she knew if I was here or if I left her side. Having me close to her was a comfort through the burning pain that was searing through her body. I didn't know for certain if my cool flesh against hers was helping with the fire or not, but I hoped my help to her extended past an emotional comfort. Hope is all I had right now that she was spared some pain with the transformation. But I knew no matter what, she was comforted by me being here, even with Charlie being so close. I knew for her sake and mine that I needed to listen to the entire conversation, including the unspoken parts, of what was about to transpire downstairs. I listened closely to the world outside our room, listening to what could cause more pain to Bella than she was already enduring.

I kissed Bella once more then started intently listening for Charlie's thoughts. When I focused in on him, I could tell he was just pulling into the drive way.

"_Good, his car is still here" _Charlie thought "_ looks like I might be able to be able to get that last hug after all. The Lights aren't on, I hope I won't wake any one up….they did say dawn, right?"_

Charlie then parked his cruiser next to my Volvo, he was hesitating about coming in. He didn't want to wake anyone up. He sat in the car for about 10 minutes in silence assuring him self that the conversation we had yesterday really did say dawn. He figured that he could maybe just wait outside until we left, that wasn't wrong for a father to do when it might be the last time to see his daughter for a long while he pondered to his self.

Why didn't we move my car earlier? It would have saved us all this headache now.

Carlisle was watching from the front room as Charlie continued to debate amongst himself. I was beginning to think that Charlie was never going to leave or come in, his debate with himself was too strong. Alice's lack of visions, or rather a constant stream of conflicting visions, only confirmed this suspicion. Alice told Carlisle about Charlie's indecisive fight with himself in the car and together they decided that the best course of action would be to take matters into there own hands and encourage Charlie to come and talk. It was apparent that this was the only way to hold the upper hand in this situation.

Suddenly Bella moaned again. I wanted to keep her from crying out in pain. Not only for the Charlie situation going on downstairs, but I wanted to actually stop her pain. If I could take her pain on, I would have gladly taken it on two fold to protect her. My entire reason for existing in the last year and a half was to keep her from pain. My plans did not always work, in fact one of them completely backfired. It hurt her in a way I could not even imagine, but tonight that did not matter. Tonight Bella was in pain. Bella was in pain for me. I whispered in her ear, "It is all alright my love, I am here. I will take care of everything." She did not need to fret about her father during this time on top of the physical pain she was experience at my hand, I needed her to know I was taking care of her and all her worries.

Carlisle turned on the light downstairs, making it appear as someone was stirring in the house to our outside visitor. Alice, Esme, and Charlie donned there costumes for the show, the props where in place, for the curtain was up for Charlie's private show. Right on cue, as if he was scripted himself, Charlie stopped his deliberations and went to knock on the door.

"Morning , Chief Swan" Carlisle said with a questioning voice to Charlie when he opened up the door.

"Please, Charlie….we are family now" without even reading his mind, you could tell this entire situation was uncomfortable for him. His thoughts only added to this assertion. "I am sorry to stop by so early, but I was in the neighborhood…and well Bella said they were leaving at dawn. Well I thought I might be able to help load up the car and give Bella one last big hug goodbye."

"I am sorry Charlie, but they were up late last night with last minute preparations to leave. They decided to sleep in this morning before hitting the road instead."

"Do you mind me waiting, I just want to say goodbye. I am sure you understand…with Edward leaving too"

"I don't know how long they are going to be, they were up really late." Carlisle was doing his best to make it Charlie's idea to leave and to make it feel like everyone else in the large Cullen household was still asleep.

Charlie seemed disappointed, but he also understood. It was hard losing Bella after having her to himself, well not quite to himself whenever I was in the picture. I can say I empathize with him though. I found out last fall how much I couldn't go on with out my sweet Bella in my so-called life. She is what changed my existence into my life.

"I am so sorry that I disturbed you this morning so early, tell Bella and Edward that I stopped by. Tell them to call me when they can, and I send my love," Charlie went on to tell Carlisle. We were almost in the clear. He was disappointed, but he didn't want to wake Bella or cause too much trouble in the wee hours of the morning.

"I'll pass it on," Carlisle said very friendly like, but still making the hour know by the volume of his voice.

It truly looked like we were going to make it, Charlie was taking all the bait that we left for him. He turned around and was about ready to head for his car when it happened.

It wasn't a surprise to hear a scream from Bella, but the timing couldn't be worse. I could hear her heart taking a sudden dip in beats again, it was now half its normal rate. The scream wasn't as loud as earlier screams, but it was loud enough to alert Charlie to Bella's pain.

Charlie immediately turned back around. He was used to hearing Bella scream in her nightmares when I was gone. Just a single memory from him seeing the zombie Bella of my absence assures me that there is no amount of penance I could do to make up for that to Bella, even with all eternity to do it. There was no amount of penance I could do to make up for it to Charlie either. But Charlie knew that this scream was not one of her nightmares. He may be a small town cop, but he still knew that cry to be a cry of real physical pain. Carlisle reacted to the cry too, but not in the way Chief Swan thought was normal. Given the bloodcurdling nature of the cry and the abnormal behavior he thought he saw in Carlisle, he was now convinced that his baby girl was in trouble.

They say when parents know there offspring are in trouble, they can develop almost superhuman strength. I am not sure that happened here, but Charlie was able to get past Carlisle at the door and up the stairs to our room before Carlisle had time to react. Carlisle made it to the room just before Charlie opened up the door, and was able to delay Charlie for a few seconds. He thought " _Edward!, we are going to have to let him in. You might want to step away from her for a few"_

"No!" I growled in a low voice, low enough for only my family to hear. I continued to hold Bella. I was not going to break any part of my promise to her. She was giving up her life for me, the least I could do was not leave her side during the change, no matter what complications arose.

"_Edward"_ he directed his thoughts at me again, " _we need to make him believe she is just sick, that she will be okay in the morning "_

I growled again "No, I am not leaving her."

"_Fine_" Carlisle sighed towards me in his mind. He knew he was not going to get close to winning this fight. He then sighed out loud, "Sorry Charlie, about lying earlier. Bella asked us not to tell you. She is very sick" Charlie was forcing his way into my room by this time. Carlisle followed. Hopefully Charlie would be able to accept whatever medical explanation for Bella's symptoms Carlisle would give him to explain the symptoms of changing into our kind.

Bella let out another scream, this time not very loud. If this was the scream from two minutes ago, it wouldn't have alerted Charlie.

By this time the rest of the family had gathered outside the door. How Charlie took this effected them as much as any of the family in the room. Charlie was seeing a transformation into a vampire, but it was important for him not to make that connection.

"Bella got sick soon after she arrive home last night. We are watching over her. Edward will not leave her side" Carlisle explained to Charlie. "She begged us not to call you, even though we tried."

Bella murmured "I am sorry" softly. I am sure it took all of her strength to do so. All of the family heard the murmur. Every thought in the house, except Charlie's, was on Bella and how it was not her fault for the events unfolding this early morning. Charlie's thoughts, of course, was on his sick baby girl and the how and whys accompanying her condition.

I whispered into her ear so Charlie couldn't hear, "My love, it is not your fault. Everyone agrees."

Charlie came over to Bella's side. He was convinced that I had something to so with this. He was right, but that couldn't be admitted. He did not like it one bit that we hid this from him at the door, or the fact I clung to her so tightly. He saw my eyes betraying me, giving up some of my own guilt for her pain. My eyes were willing to take all the blame. I looked away from him as soon as I heard the connection to in his mind, then closed them and held her closer. He knew I was shouldering the blame, but he also seemed to know the ache I felt.

He reached out touch Bella and immediately noticed upon touching her skin the changes happening to her.

"She feels so cold" he muttered " Get off of her Edward, I think you are making it worse."

"No," dealing with others tonight was not happening. My vocabulary was limited because of it. No one was going to tell me to let her out of my arms.

Carlisle saw my defiance and stepped up to smooth things over "Charlie, it is the infection, it is taking over her body. The coldness to her skin is part of it"

"Why aren't you taking her to the hospital" he asked my father.

"Do you think she would get any better care at the hospital than in my home," Charlie thought about it for a minute then realized that there was no one better suited to care for her than Dr. Cullen. He even chuckled for a second in his internal monologue about how fitting it was for Bella and her accidents to be married into a family with a doctor at the head.

"Bella, can you hear me" Charlie asked her softly. He could hear her shallow breaths and feel her weak pulse. He held her hand tight hoping for some sign she felt reassured by his presence. He knew very little about medicine, but he could tell his daughter was essentially dying. "Carlisle…is there anything that can be done to help her."

Carlisle went over to Charlie to grab his shoulder in a reassuring grab when Alice yelled "No!" running closer to Carlisle to stop him. Alice saw with that decision, Charlie would be able to figure out our families big secret, the secret that now also belonged to his daughter. Unfortunately that last minute decision by Carlisle didn't leave enough time for Alice to have a vision and stop him. Carlisle was already holding Charlie's shoulder.

Charlie realized for the first time how cold and stone like Carlisle's hands were. Bella's transformation still had over two days to go, but her hands already has a similar icy feel to them. Far from what they would become, but still colder and harder than human hands should feel. He felt her hands, Carlisle's hands, then went to memories of Alice's and my hands. He realized I never ate, nor did my family. He started putting every little detail that concerned him about me before, but now they seemed to fit together like a perfect puzzle. He remembered the stories Billy Black used to tell him about why no one from the reservation went to the hospital since Dr. Cullen started there. He always blew it off as a silly superstition, but could it possibly be true. Could vampires really exist?

"_No" _was his immediate thought, they are stuff of legends and fairy tales. They did not exist in the real world, and they certainly did not exist in this bedroom. He was being silly. But then again it all added up. And if that was the case, he willingly let his daughter marry a vampire. No, worse, he gave his daughter away to one at the wedding. In between every thought trying to reason away the question of what we are, there was they phrase "_Why didn't I believe Billy." _Then he went to touch Bella's cooling face, and pushed her hair back, leaving her neck exposed. Leaving my bite wound exposed.

We truly had only a few choices now. We could deny things and try to give him another explanation. This might work, but it will leave open for doubt in his mind and he will always question what happened tonight. We could try to knock him out, or something like that, convince him when he came to that he imagined the whole thing. Or we could tell him the truth. Leaving someone to figure out whether they believe in the existence of vampires or not on their own, especially given a proximity to the werewolf world as well, did not seem wise.

I turned my face into Bella's hair and whispered what I had heard in Charlie's mind to my family. Alice needed to weigh the options as we decided on each one by one. We needed to see if our decisions tonight could show any future where we could live with the consequences. Despite all the game plans worked through, only one choice ended without the Volturi discovering how much Charlie knew, without them disposing of the evidence and witness to our world. This one vision didn't show him safe, rather it didn't show him at all. Charlie was now in need of the protection of wolves. Given the options, that would be the choice Bella would chose for her father. She trusted that pack and even loved some of them. She knows that they would protect Charlie whenever it was needed. We all knew that, I knew that.

Charlie was still processing the information in his mind, trying to find the right questions and the right way to ask. How do you ask your in-laws if they belong to the mythical undead? If they were, was he a liability to ask, would that make him a snack? He was also trying to determine if he was sane, after all, vampires really don't exist.

"Tell him Carlisle" I said for all to hear.

"Please" Bella muttered out. A few other words were coming out slowly. It was clear she wanted imput and was fighting through the pain to say a few words on the matter. "But " a deep heavy breath followed that word. "No" followed by another scream, "Renee." She was barely making sense but everyone got what she was saying, even Charlie. She is so strong, so selfless, even during the pain she was putting others first.

"We got it love, get some rest," I told her once it was clear that her point was made, following it by a comforting kiss on her back of her head.

"Tell me what? What isn't Renee to know?" his voice was urgent. His thoughts trailed away from the vampire theory for a moment. "_ Maybe it was something else, after all why would a vampire tell me that they were a vampire? Maybe Bella had been sick, maybe that was the reason for the rush of the wedding. Why wouldn't she tell me?" _Charlie thought.

I relayed this information quickly to my family, but it was still deemed that the truth at this point was best. We could fake her death in a few days easily, but the doubt and suspicion that would place on us would cause more problems in the long run. Or so Alice's visions showed.

"You might as well all come in" Carlisle said and instantly my mother and four siblings were in the room surrounding Bella, Charlie, and myself. Immediately Jasper's cool calming effect took over and brought a sense of peace and serenity to the room. I could even instantly see that he was having an effect on Bella. Her pain seemed less urgent now that he was near.

"Charlie," I began, " I think we need to tell you something."

Charlie listened as Carlisle explained father to father, if you will, who we really were and the lifestyle we chose to live. We also explained the importance of our secretary. We explained everything since Bella arrived in our lives, but after we got to the point of us leaving, he broke into for a few questions.

"Vampires?" He asked almost in disbelief. He was thinking it earlier, but saying it out loud made it feel even more far fetched than he originally thought.

"Yes" Carlisle said a matter of fact, letting this information soak into to Charlie's brain.

"And Bella?"

"Soon, she is in the process"

"You promised Edward you would never hurt her, and then you do this" he now directed his comments towards me in angry accusatory tone, "You are taking away everything. If you leave again, she died Edward when you left the first time. Now you can't even give her the freedom of a normal life if she needed it." He was irate now. Even Jasper's calming presence acted little on the floodgate of emotions coming from Charlie to find a way to protect his little girl from all monsters of the world, from the mythical monster that his little girl married. He did edit out a few choice words in his internal monologue as he yelled at me, he figured that those words word add undue tension to a tense situation. He could justify the yelling, but not the obscenities.

"Charlie, I was born in 1901. I have spent my entire life alone and empty. I had no clue I could ever feel the way I do about Bella. That I could feel complete just with the way she looks at me. I have never felt anything a fraction as strong as the connection between Bella and me. She truly is my soul mate" I didn't move much, but I made sure my words were spoken from my heart. The words I would have put in my vows if it wasn't for the humans in attendance. "I left last fall because I wanted her to have a normal life, a normal human life. I found out that leaving her left her with a half life, something I never would have done willingly. I also found myself only half the person I was before meeting her without her in my life. So I could leave again, letting her stay human. Leaving her and me as zombies living out the rest of our existence, or I could stay and have Bella press me into making her a vampire so we would never be separated, not even by death. I wanted her to stay human, but Bella wanted the other option. She wanted immortality and an eternity with me. I am only doing this because it is what she said would make her happy, and my purpose is to make her happy."

"You forgot one other option. She could have been with Jacob. You could have stayed away, she was just starting to live again"

Emmett started laughing uncontrollably in the background. I grinned, but shot a stare over to him to cut it out. Charlie looked at Emmett like he was next on his list to kill, after me of course. He obviously didn't see why the last option was so funny.

"You would rather her have pups than live forever" Emmett was still laughing. Roselie punched him in his arm, it at least got his laugh track internally and not pissing off Charlie.

"What did he mean by that?" Charlie asked once he gathered enough control to not try to kill Emmett for the laughter and comment.

"Well it seems Bella has unique taste in men." I started and grinned at the thought, then kissed her forehead before I continued. "Jacob is a werewolf"

"Now you are yanking my chain" he said straight faced and angry about me trying to turn the tables around and seemingly make fun of him at the same time.

" No, Jacob is…well there are actually 10 werewolves currently in La Push"

"Why then am I only hearing about this, I lived my entire life here. Why now? And Why Bella?"

"She is my danger magnet" I laughed slightly and grinned before continuing. "But seriously, I know Billy gave you some warnings about us. Most humans know instinctively to stay away from us, but don't let their minds go completely to the truth, even when presented with all the evidence."

Charlie's mind was ready to accept the idea of vampires, he had at least some evidence and confessions as proof. But werewolves, that was one step too far right now.

Bella let out another moan of pain. With every cry of pain, it was like a dagger though Charlie's heart, as was it through mine.

"Charlie" Carlisle took another turn at explaining the situation, what was happening, and what had happened to him. He went one for a little bit explaining away what needed to be said. He ended his speech about Bella, and about her here and now. "I know you don't want to believe us, but this was her choice."

Charlie was taking the whole story in. We left out a lot. The parts about Bella being in danger was something he didn't quite need to know. He got the basics, enough to close his mind to the questions he opened up.

After a few minutes with nothing but the sound of Bella's struggling breathing filling the room, Charlie spoke up again.

"Vampires?" This time is was more of a statement to his self, than a question to be answered. He believed it, but couldn't be it was true at the same time. The paradox of finding out mythical creatures exist, and your daughter is becoming one. "Who knows?" Charlie then asked with an exasperated sigh. He needed to talk to someone about it, someone outside our vampire family. He needed to know who he could talk to without sounding crazy or putting his daughter at risk.

"Charlie, it is important for your safety not to talk about it. Rule number one is not to expose ourselves. Bella was suppose to be one of us. Well, at least as soon as these two love birds met it, it was all I could see." Alice chimed in.

"You could see?" Charlie was not sure what this meant at all. We left out the part of gifts introduction to the world of vampires speech.

"Alice can see the future, or at least versions of it" Carlisle explained.

"Why not?" Charlie said in a disbelieving voice, "today I discovered werewolves and vampires exist, why not at seeing the future to the list"

"You could add telepathy too" I added with a shrug " If you are making a list" Charlie looked at me a little uncertain about that.

Alice continued ignoring my extra comment and continued her story. " Every choice that was made, well almost every choice made, by these two have lead to Bella joining our family. Even when Edward was fighting it, I saw it. Bella is strong willed when it comes to what she wants, and she always wanted Edward."

"Is there a way to reverse it now, is there a way Bella can not become…" Charlie was almost in tears now. Charlie equivocated us with monsters in his head. If Bella did the same in the beginning, it would have lead to a very different ending. He however also struggles how could Bella become a monster, how could she choose it, unless we were not the same scary figures presented in horror films.

"No, she is in the process. She will be a vampire." Carlisle said as comforting as possible. He wanted to say "I am sorry" but he couldn't get it out. The truth was he wasn't. Bella was a welcome addition to the family, and unlike the rest of the family, it truly was her choice to join.

Alice spoke up. She needed Charlie to know the rest of her vision still to keep Charlie safe. "As I said, humans are not supposed to know about us. It is dangerous. Not all vampires are like us, in fact we are the rare ones. It is important for you to fall under the protection of the werewolves once we leave. They have been protecting you already, but now you need to know that you need them to protect you."

This took Charlie by surprise. His thoughts race at the idea of needing protection. _"From what? From whom?"_

"Bella never told you about us, because knowing puts you in danger. That is why Renee can't know. There are others that seek out those in the know about our world, and the penalty for the knowledge is death." I answered his internal monologue.

"We will be leaving in two days. Go to Billy, tell him you know. Tell him that you know everything. You were told that you could use some protection from other vampires possibly in the future." Alice continued her instructions. "He can call the pack together for you."

"Billy, is he a…" Charlie was now confused, his best friend wouldn't hide that from him, would he?

"No, but he knows and can get them together. Remember, Jacob is one. Outside of the pack and our family, you can never talk about this. If not for your safety, or our family's safety, think about Bella's safety." Alice finished.

Carlisle added, "The pack is not going to be happy about tonight either. They knew it was going to happen and are even going to let it slip our treaty since they saw and knew all the circumstances. But they still won't be happy. Just a warning."

"Well, I am not happy about it either." Charlie interjected.

"But it was Bella's choice for her happiness, remember that," Carlisle finished.

After a few minutes, Charlie spoke again in a quiet voice. " Can I stay with her, during…the…" He was struggling to find the right words to finish that question. His father instincts to protect his baby were kicking in. He wanted to be the one to shield her from, or at least comfort her through, the pain. That of course now was my job now.

"If you wish, for today" Carlisle told him. "But I don't think you can pry Edward off of her. He is determined to keep his promise to be at her side the entire time."

"Thanks" Charles said at first, giving me the eye. He wanted to comfort Bella with his touch, but I was so tightly wound around her, he knew Carlisle was right about prying me off. She was mine and I was not going to let anyone take her away from me, especially in her current state. Charlie then realized the qualifier in Carlisle's statement…today. "Why just today" Charlie asked hurt by the fact he could not stay with his ill daughter longer.

"As it gets closer, Bella will not be able to control herself like she would like. Bloodlust is strong with newborns. We are going hunting when she awakes, but it will be a little while before she can be around humans without instinct taking over." Carlisle explained.

"Oh," it was all Charlie could say, or for that matter think.

"You will need to say Goodbye tonight, it will be awhile before you can see her again safely."

The rest of the day went smoothly. Our family shuffled in and out of the room to check on Bella and tell her how much they loved her. Charlie watched Bella as she slept and writhed through the pain. As with earlier in the night, she screamed in agony at intervals, now from 15-30 minutes apart. Even Charlie who hated hearing his baby girl in pain, got used to the rhythm of her screams. In the silence, he even got over some of his hatred towards me. It would be a long time before it was gone completely, but the first steps were there as he saw me holding and comforting her through the day.

Esme brought food for Charlie to help him out through out the day. It was late evening when Charlie fell asleep on my couch in my room. Carlisle escorted the half-asleep Charlie to the door after he said his goodbyes. His tiredness allowed for no emotions to seep through that would get the better of him in what would have been an uncharacteristic tearful goodbye from Charlie. Alice volunteered to drive him home for his safety; he was really in no condition to drive. When she arrived back home there was a sigh in relief from everyone in the house.

Charlie wasn't going to tell a soul, outside his protectors. His daughter's life, or whatever you call this state of living, was too important to him. He would protect our family's secret to the grave, after all it was his family's secret now too.

The next two days went without any troublesome incidents at all. Bella's screaming continued almost systematically. Her temperature dropped at a slow, but steady pace. Her heart rate and breathing rate followed suit. Her skin was becoming more and more like mine, hard and white. I did not ever even think about leaving her side as I listened careful for the change that would confirm her pain was gone and mine officially forever.

When I finally heard it, a sense of relief engulfed my body. Her heart stopped completely. She was now dead, or rather undead. I kissed her soft marble white cheek as she opened her eyes for the first time as a vampire. "How are you, love?" I asked as I released my firm grip on her from the past three days.

"Thank you" was her first words out of her mouth with her new musical tone to her voice. This surprised even me. I knew that she wanted this, but even through all the pain, her first words being "thank you" shocked me. I was relieved to find that even after the change her thoughts, the one that could have clues me into the phrase, were still a mystery to me like before. I had hoped for a little bit to see her beautiful mind, but the mystery of her mind really was more appealing to me.

"For the change" I asked, trying to figure it out. She smiled at me with her new perfectly white teeth and snuggled back into me.

"For giving me you for eternity" but that was only added as an afterthought to her original statement. She meant it, but I knew that the thank you was for something else. "For Charlie" she said after a minute. I went to kiss her head, she still smelled amazing, like her Freesia scent, but less edible. The smell though was still intoxicatingly amazing.

"Anything for your happiness my love" I told her softly in her ear. After a few moments and hearing out family prepare to leave outside the door, I asked Bella that all important question. "Are you ready for your first hunt." Bella's eyes lit up with the idea of blood, she was thirsty.

"Lets go" Bella was out of the bed in a flash, but as soon as she got to her feet she lost her balance and feel straight on her face. I went to help up my no longer porcelain Bella from the floor and held her in my arms with a big smile on my face. Even vampiric grace was not enough to cure my Bella of the clumsiness I loved so much about her. The change into a vampire truly didn't change anything about my Bella, but only gave her to me forever.


End file.
